In the late 50s the Beat movement reached its high point, with Ginsberg, Kerouac and Burroughs sharing rooms in a rundown hotel near the Seine. James Campbell visits a new exhibition at the Pompidou Centre and a pivotal moment in cultural history

It was the epic, groundbreaking poem that tore down the cultural barriers of the 1950s and paved the way for everyone from Patti Smith to David Bowie. And, 60 years since it appeared, its influence on musicians shows no signs of fading